Is There a Captain Marvel Easter Egg in Doctor Strange?

Earlier today, it was confirmed that Marvel's new Phase 3 adventure Doctor Strange is a bona fide box office hit, taking in $84.9 million in its opening weekend. Marvel has become well-known for dropping Easter Eggs that tease its upcoming movies, and it seems that one of the Easter Eggs in Doctor Strange may be teasing the upcoming Captain Marvel. Director Scott Derrickson teased in a recent interview that a pivotal scene in Doctor Strange may be teasing Captain Marvel. If you haven't seen Doctor Strange yet, there will be SPOILERS below, so read on at your own risk.

During an early scene in Doctor Strange, Stephen Strange is driving in his expensive sports car, taking a call to decide which high-profile patient's case he should take on next, just before he gets in the car accident that sends him on his journey to the Kamer Taj. One of these patients mentioned in the call was a woman in her 20s who was struck by lightning an injury complicated by an electronic implant in her brain to help quell her schizophrenia Entertainment Weekly asked the director if this was a direct reference to Carol Danvers, but the filmmaker wouldn't say, referencing the 2001 movie Don't Say A Word in his response.

"Remember that Brittany Murphy movie where she goes 'I'll never tell...'"

Marvel confirmed at Comic-Con this summer that Brie Larson has been cast as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. We also reported in August that the director's short list has been narrowed down to Niki Caro, Lesli Linka Glatterand Lorene Scafaria but Marvel hasn't made a final decision quite yet. The movie is set to hit theaters on March 8, 2019, but it is believed that Captain Marvel may be introduced to fans sooner than that.

It's worth noting that Kevin Feige previously admitted that Captain Marvel was included in an early version of the Avengers: Age of Ultron script, but they didn't want to introduce her as a "fully-formed hero" before fans got to know how she came to be. However, last month, Avengers: Infinity War directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo let it slip that Captain Marvel will be featured in Avengers: Infinity War, which starts shooting this coming November. We don't know for sure if the deal Brie Larson is negotiating will include a role in Avengers: Infinity War as well, and that wasn't revealed today.

Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) are writing the script for Captain Marvel, but there is very little we know about the story yet. Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, first debuted in 1968's "Marvel Super-Heroes" #13. She was a U.S. Air Force security chief who is transformed into Captain Marvel following an explosion that involved Kree technology. Among Captain Marvel's powers are superhuman strength and the ability to fly after her DNA was infused with a Kree alien. It's possible that we could see Captain Marvel get her powers at some point during Avengers: Infinity War Part I, which arrives on May 3, 2018, 10 months before Captain Marvel debuts on March 8, 2019. It isn't known if this Doctor Strange Easter Egg will ever be confirmed.